The Lakers did a lot of things right in Sunday’s loss to the Spurs in Game 1 of the playoffs, but most of that was on the defensive end of the floor. L.A. held the Spurs to just 91 points on 37.6 percent shooting, and essentially matched them in rebounds and blocked shots.

Where the Lakers struggled mightily was on the offensive end of the floor, managing just 79 points for the game and committing twice as many turnovers (18) as did the Spurs.

For L.A. to have a chance to bounce back in Game 2, the team will need to find a way to get Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard more touches in the post, without being so obvious about it and forcing passes into them when the spacing is missing. Gasol and Howard combined for six of the Lakers’ first half turnovers in Game 1, and 10 of the team’s total for the game.

A lot of that had to do with the timing of when the entry passes were coming, as well as the location of L.A.’s perimeter players — both of which allowed the Spurs to send two and three defenders into the post once the ball was received.

Not surprisingly, a big focus of the Lakers’ preparation for Game 2 involved putting in some sets that would hopefully allow them to get Gasol and Howard more consistent and less congested opportunities. Gasol explained how this might work after practice on Tuesday.

“We’re just trying to move the ball and create a couple actions before we dump the ball in the post,” Gasol said. “We got to move their defense so the passes are not so forced and it’s not so predictable and everybody sees that we’re trying to keep that path right now and everybody’s looking at it.

“So, we change [the] ball side-to-side on the floor, and that’s it. It creates a couple actions where we can create some movement, the defense is not fighting from behind so much and then all of the sudden, boom. Post-up. Boom. Right there. So, that’s what we’re trying to do — create some flow and move their defense before we put the ball in the post.”

The Lakers will have an additional resource off the bench available, as Jordan Hill has been medically cleared to return to the Lakers lineup. Hill was out the last three months after undergoing hip surgery, and should be able to bring some additional activity inside if he’s healthy enough and if Mike D’Antoni chooses to use him. Hill averaged 5.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game in 29 appearances.

The Spurs played flawless defensively in Game 1, so they’ll look to repeat the effort on Wednesday, while also hoping that Tony Parker can find his shot. Parker led his team with 21 field goal attempts, but made just eight. San Antonio needed a huge game offensively off the bench from Manu Ginobili, whose incredible run of eight points in the final minute and a half of the third quarter locked up the Game 1 victory.